DePaul Post Game Thread

[Stew Crew]

I was there, the crowd was fine, it was a Big East game crowd

Definitely better than the Butler game. I've been to more exciting funerals.

There were plenty of empty seats that are season tickets. I'm guessing, based on the people sitting around me, that a lot of season ticket holders sold or gave away their seats from last night, figuring it would be a blow out.

 

[NotADime89]

In the grand scheme of things, does booing vs cheering really matter to a team or player, noise is noise. I remember when Randy Johnson was a Yankee he said "I don't care if the fans boo me or cheer me but be loud when I'm on the mound".

The people posting on twitter crying all night/morning about the booing are exhausting (and I don't agree with the booing). I just listened to a twitter space from last night and a lady talking on the space sounded like she was legitimately going to cry when talking about the boos. She was reprimanding the people that booed saying don't come to games anymore as of she was some UConn fan police. I got a laugh out of it

 

[Scoe]

The people posting on twitter crying all night/morning about the booing are exhausting (and I don't agree with the booing). I just listened to a twitter space from last night and a lady talking on the space sounded like she was legitimately going to cry when talking about the boos. She was reprimanding the people that booed saying don't come to games anymore as of she was some UConn fan police. I got a laugh out of it

Those reactions don't suprise me at all lol. To me fans who wanna be the fan police are even worse than the fans who booed. I see comments like we shouldn't play in Hartford anymore that logic is so dumb, despite what anyone thinks about the Civic Center UConn is going to play games in Hartford their a state university.

So trying to lose fans is better? The booing was a vast minority and it wasn't continued booing.

 

[RuffRuff]

The people posting on twitter crying all night/morning about the booing are exhausting (and I don't agree with the booing). I just listened to a twitter space from last night and a lady talking on the space sounded like she was legitimately going to cry when talking about the boos. She was reprimanding the people that booed saying don't come to games anymore as of she was some UConn fan police. I got a laugh out of it

You may get whacked by the Husky Maffia - go into the yard protection program.

 

[Iluvsuebird]

This is the first game I missed in like 10 years. I was flying with no wifi. So my thoughts are not game specific. I would never boo Uconn. Period. But I sure get frustrated, not with losses, but with the continuation of the same defensive mistakes, game in and game out. I am in peace with the fact that we are a lazy defensive team. Lazy you say? Yes, because we have great athletes. There is zero reason Solo should get beat as badly as he does, 15 times a game. Same with Ross and Stew. And I have even seen Hass get beat on the perimeter. I never played at this level. But I remember learning early on that playing defensive is about energy and commitment. Anticipating and studying your opponent, so that you can take away what they want to do. How come our perimeter guys keep getting beat to the right by right handers, and to the left by left handers? This is lack of preparation. Lack of focus. That said, I ride or die with these guys. And I believe in Dan Hurley and the coaching staff. I think that March will still be special.

 

[Palatine]

We keep seeing what Jaylin Stewart can do. Pretty soon everyone will realize what we have and will let this kid go to do his thing on the court.

He has got to pick up his defense, both one-on-one defense and understanding where to be in the system. His offense is real. His defense.....

 

[JustbrewitMan]

Just to give context. Stew came out we were losing 47-44. Ross replaced him. When Stew returned we were up 64-54. So that's a 20-7 swing in eight minutes. This is the third or fourth time this has happened this year.

Ross is -24 since Baylor

Stew is -33

Two examples of Stew’s defense last night - smaller man goes right over him for a 5-6 chip shot, uncontested. Later he’s guarding a man at the 3 pt line, the guy puts a little shim on Stew, in place, to the point Stew loses balance and almost falls and the guy nails a wide open 3.

Then you see how he played defense against Dixon and ask yourself, where is that? It feels like focus with him. First defensive possession of the game he basically gave a DePaul guy an easy free o rebound/layup without a care in the world. Very hard kid to figure out without knowing what he looks like day in day out. He shows these flashes but cannot sustain it.

The second and one is from an inexperienced player totally losing his player on an inbounds play.

The first and one Reed got totally schooled and Ross was alert enough to come to the play with a potential to make a stop. His premature jump is a timing issue. He's only had 400 minutes of game time experience between last season and this.

When I watch Ross I see a player who is engaged with everything that is happening on the court when the other team has the ball. He is reactive even when it's not his player handling it. Stewart and Mahaney on the other hand are glued to watching their player for the most part. Solo is transitioning which is why his defense is improving and he made that fantastic block. Or maybe his one on one defense is improving allowing him to be more comfortable to watch the court. So in court awareness on the defensive end Ross is ahead of Stewart without question.

As far as the plus and minus differential between Ross and Stewart, some of it can be explained to timing when a player is on the court and whether the team is making or missing baskets more than the other team and is not always relatable to how well a player plays. Stewart is well ahead of Ross on the offensive end. But a part of Ross's weakness is the staff are not giving him the green light. If we were down players similar to Vital's sophomore season and Ross was getting the playing time Vital had we'd being seeing a different player on the offensive end.

Yea I was watching Ross closely in the 2nd half. Gunn was starting to be a problem in the 1st half and looked like he could go off, but Ross did a real nice job shadowing & neutralizing him in the 2nd half.

You can tell why Hurley loves Ross because he's busting his arse to get better, and is definitely getting better on defense in-game. He's doing fewer high-risk gamble plays and biting for less up-fakes.

The 2nd one he fell for (late in the game), he was fuming at himself. Right after it happened, after Hass got in his face, when he got to Hurley & heard it from him, after Kimani spoke to him too. Not sure if it showed up on the broadcast, but he emphatically punched his seat before he sat down...hard enough that I thought "he better not have just broken his hand with that"

The offense is gonna be tough to get dramatically better because other than fast-break runouts, he's a 3rd/4th/5th option in most sets and isn't going to get the best looks. Nearly all of his last 4-5 3pt shots have looked really good, some of them should have fallen.

His one drive to the hoop he likely got fouled but it wasn't called.

 

[Waquoit]

There were plenty of empty seats that are season tickets.

Not really.

 

[dennismenace]

Ross' one shot was so wildly uncoordinated looking that it really makes you wonder if potential is even there. It looked like the Elaine Dance of college basketball.

I had to look up "The Elaine Dance" LOL. For other clueless people like me:

 

[ctchamps]

The people posting on twitter crying all night/morning about the booing are exhausting (and I don't agree with the booing). I just listened to a twitter space from last night and a lady talking on the space sounded like she was legitimately going to cry when talking about the boos. She was reprimanding the people that booed saying don't come to games anymore as of she was some UConn fan police. I got a laugh out of it

Not sure you're putting me into this category or not. I wouldn't police people about booing. That is far worse than the act itself imo. I just don't see the value in it. All i'm asking is for those who do it, support it, or advocate for it, explain to me the value it provides in helping a team perform better.

@Scoe brings up one player who isn't bothered by booing as an example to refute my contention. That player isn't bothered by it. I'm sure there are people who thrive on it. An American women player in the Australian Open loved it. But are these the majority of players?

If chin or anyone else can give me objective information that counters my point I'd gladly admit I'm wrong.

Not for anything but when things don't go well a vast majority of this forum's posts are repetitive crying. Most of the people posting here have been crying since Maui. They want players and coaches to change. It's not a coincidence that we insist others change when we refuse to. I also find it strange that this twitter women made you exhausted when the majority of this forum is that way.

 

[dennismenace]

All the talk about our defense this year and I'm surprised how little we recognize losing Castle and what that did to the defense. Forget Clingan. That's obvious. Castle is 2 years removed from high school and shutting down 30 year old NBA veterans. Replace him with the below mediocre defensive performance of Stewart and Mahaney and it's pretty easy to see how we got so bad on the perimeter so quick.

And the year before that we had Andre Jackson. Elite 6-6 lockdown defenders against the best 1-4 you've got. And they also could lead the transition offense as well.

 

[mussels]

Pretty damn funny:

LOL. BlueDemonDegan doesn’t realize that we are always pissed off at each other. DePaul has nothing to do with it.

 

[HCCForever]

I had to look up "The Elaine Dance" LOL. For other clueless people like me:

Thanks for the laugh. I am well aware of this dance. I hope you know what a double dip is and make sure you don't use that method at any Super Bowl party.

 

[Scoe]

Not sure you're putting me into this category or not. I wouldn't police people about booing. That is far worse than the act itself imo. I just don't see the value in it. All i'm asking is for those who do it, support it, or advocate for it, explain to me the value it provides in helping a team perform better.

@Scoe brings up one player who isn't bothered by booing as an example to refute my contention. That player isn't bothered by it. I'm sure there are people who thrive on it. An American women player in the Australian Open loved it. But are these the majority of players?

If chin or anyone else can give me objective information that counters my point I'd gladly admit I'm wrong.

Not for anything but when things don't go well a vast majority of this forum's posts are repetitive crying. Most of the people posting here have been crying since Maui. They want players and coaches to change. It's not a coincidence that we insist others change when we refuse to. I also find it strange that this twitter women made you exhausted when the majority of this forum is that way.

I think most posters are in agreement on this, think it's time to move on look the fans booed we don't have to like it, but they didn't commit a crime let's move on.

 

[jostar1]

Did Dan Hurley just overplay the THREE PEAT crap and give the team overstuffed BS confidence and it backfired in a nuclear way?

He's still talking 3-peat. He alluded to it in the post-game press conference.

 

[my2cents]

Agreed. The narrative against Jaylin Stewart is baffling. He's one of our own and clearly has the ability to go off in the scoring column. He's a much better post defender than he is perimeter defender, see Villanova game vs Dixon. Tough for both Ross and Stewart to play consistently when their roles are so inconsistent. Someone mentioned Ross has only played 400 minutes. There's a great athlete there, but it's no wonder his timing is off on both ends of the court. Excited to see those two grow every game. Jaylin Stewart 6/7FG for 15 points!! Yet this board has so much negativity for him because of his +/-?? There's four other Huskies on the court with him getting scored on!! Is the expectation that much higher for Sophomore Stewart than it is for Senior starter Samson Johnson 4 points, only 2 shots, and 3 rebounds or Junior Aiden Mahaney who went 3/9FG for 10 points??

I admit that I have a real soft spot for Stewart and Reed Jr. I think their skill level is so clear and they have the tools to be game changers for this team. Alongside McNeeley, healthy Karaban, and rising star Solo Ball we have some dawgs who can beat anyone on their day. Add to that our fearless leader Hassan Diarra. Things just need to click at the right time, but the narrative against Stewart is frustrating to say the least. I'll add that whenever the game plan completely goes away from Tarris Reed Jr. I'm baffled and the announcers always seem to be as well. Almost feels like people are pushing Stewart out the door. I don't get it.

100% I have seen enough of him to realize that he can get anywhere he wants , once he gets the ball and will score more than anyone else. Too many times he is stuck in a corner and never gets a look.

 

[jostar1]

Solo said that the strength coach, Gavin Roberts, gave them a lot of energy and a lift at half-time going into the second half:

 

[Scoe]

He's still talking 3-peat. He alluded to it in the post-game press conference.

The same people who think words hav some effect on our team think Hurley's bullet proof comments last March were gonna give our opponents bulletin board material.

 

[ctchamps]

I think most posters are in agreement on this, think it's time to move on look the fans booed we don't have to like it, but they didn't commit a crime let's move on.

I was planning on moving on anyways. Not one to persist on points. This is about as far as I take things.

 

[ucp990411]

Not sure why everyone is so uptight about the booing. There were complaints about it in the chat and we were saying worse things than booing. Look the rules changed these are no longer student athletes. They are making more money than 98% of people who work for a living.

With that comes more responsibility. I love Dan Hurley and would never want anyone else to coach our team. I mean he lit them up at halftime. The Assistant coaches lit them up at halftime and we are worried about the fans booing.

This all changed with NIL and some of us are supporting that more than the usual annual donations that were being made to the university.

Fans have right to boo when a team goes out and shows no emotion and looks like it’s going through the motions against a very bad team.

We played OK in the second half and erased a 8 point deficit and won by 11. Yeah we stunk enough in the first half to get booed. Even Hurley did not go over the top on it, my guess is he is going to use it as a psychological carrot with the team.

But we really need to stop thinking as these guys as student athletes. I have not looked but one of the DePaul players a senior looked like he had gray hair on his head D’Amico a senior. This is not the same game as it was in the 80’s and 90’s. Back then they were still getting paid but it was not official and most of our players in the 80’s were not good enough to get paid anyway.

Stewart isn't really quick enough at the 3. He's a much better defender at the 4. His minutes should really be as a sub for AK. Ross is quick, twitchy and should be a good defender but isn't because he's constantly gambling for steals and blocks rather than just playing straight up. I think some of that is a desire to make a big play and prove he needs to be on the court. Offensively, and on the boards, Stewart is much, much better than Ross.

Better defender at the 4? Did you see him get posted up vs Xavier repeatedly and foul trying to defend?

 

[444JR]

100% I have seen enough of him to realize that he can get anywhere he wants , once he gets the ball and will score more than anyone else. Too many times he is stuck in a corner and never gets a look.

Couldn’t have said it better myself. In certain games he’s playing clearly aware that if he misses one shot he’ll be benched. The critical part I’ll say is that his defense does not keep him on the floor. That needs to change. Guy has to be earning more of a leash. Even when McNeeley comes back. Find ways to play them together, keep fresh legs, keep these guys playing down hill, fast. Taking good looks.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

This team is at about 60% of where they could be Obviously Liam being out has a lot to do with this . But at our best so far maybe 75-80% I’m being generous
So I’m not giving up on this or any team with that growth potential. If the team D jells and we can get to around 90% . I would not want to see us as an opponent in late March

 

[Captbluefin]

Solo said that the strength coach, Gavin Roberts, gave them a lot of energy and a lift at half-time going into the second half:

Very well spoken young men.

 

[mauconnfan]

Just to give context. Stew came out we were losing 47-44. Ross replaced him. When Stew returned we were up 64-54. So that's a 20-7 swing in eight minutes. This is the third or fourth time this has happened this year.

This is proof of how worthless that stat is. Someone else is playing well to help tilt those numbers because in no world did Ross bring more to the table than Stewart. Ross does very little and his defense is highly overrated.

 

[Hunt for 7]

This is proof of how worthless that stat is. Someone else is playing well to help tilt those numbers because in no world did Ross bring more to the table than Stewart. Ross does very little and his defense is highly overrated.

So Danny and the best coaching group in the game are wrong. If we just stop focusing on the stupid plays he makes and watch when he is not over helping and trying to do so much you will see what happens to the man he is guarding.

He challenges three point shots better than anyone on our team. Unfortunately he makes some really boneheaded plays mostly associated with him leaving his feat then trying to do too much to recover.

But when he is solid you don’t notice him much because the man he is guarding is not scoring.

Everyone can bash Ross, next year after all this playing time we are going to talking about him differently. And Hurley knows his skill set refined is more valuable to the roster construction next year when we have a great yet underwhelming athletic group coming in. Ross will be on this team next year. There are a few other sophomores that may not as well as one or two from the freshman class.